The concept of the Wheel of Fortune, representing the unpredictable turns of fate in people’s lives, arose in antiquity and has proven a durable metaphor. Hans im Gluck‘s new Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune, the newest iteration of their best-selling game, pays homage to this sturdy philosophical idea by introducing a literal wheel-shaped piece, which is divided into six wedges marked “Fortune”, “Tax”, “Famine”, “Storm”, “Inquisition”, and “Plague”.

Play proceeds in the accustomed way, with players choosing random tiles (sight unseen), building the game board, and scoring points by staking claim to features with the little wooden followers known colloquially as “meeples”. Only if the a player draws a land tile holding a Wheel of Fortune symbol does he take a chance by moving the pig (Fortune’s mover!) around the wheel the number of spaces indicated on the tile, and by taking the action shown on the segment on which the pig lands. Only the segment marked Fortune solely rewards the player whose turn it is: Tax, Famine, Storm, and Inquisition will each reward all players under certain circumstances, while anyone’s landing upon Plague demands that each player remove one follower from a land tile back to his supply.

Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune is designed so that it may be played as a replacement for the original game, or as an expansion for the original game and all previous expansions.

2 to 5 players, 30 to 45 minutes (longer with more players). CAD$34.99